[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 50 (Thursday, March 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO MIKE AND EMILY BENEDICK

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 27, 2003

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
pay tribute to Mike and Emily Benedick of Yampa, Colorado for the 
generosity and dedication to their community that they exhibited 
throughout their lives. Mike and Emily sadly passed away within a week 
of each other recently and I join their friends and family in mourning 
this tremendous loss. It is truly an honor to recognize their lives 
before this body of Congress and this nation.
  Mike and Emily were married on June 30, 1928 while Mike was a coal 
miner in Oak Creek. An avid card player, he spent a great deal of time 
at his brother-in-law's saloon, The Antlers. Five years later, Mike and 
Emily were both working at The Antlers, which the couple eventually 
purchased in 1937. Mike and Emily ran the Antlers Cafe and Bar in 
Yampa, Colorado for nearly sixty years and saw the Yampa community 
through the momentous changes of the twentieth century, always 
providing a comfortable meeting place for the miners and ranchers of 
the area. The Antlers changed with the times, too, becoming a pool hall 
during prohibition, and later adding food to the menu.
  The Antlers was always a place to visit, and any customer knew they 
would receive a friendly welcome from Mike and Emily. Despite many 
hardships after World War II in the 1950s and 1960s, Mike and Emily 
stayed open for business. In 1996, Mike and Emily closed the bar, and 
it was sold shortly thereafter. However, customers and community 
members alike recall Mike and Emily as welcoming and warm-hearted 
people, who were always stern in their ways.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that we mourn the loss of Mike 
and Emily Benedick. Their genuine concern and care towards others have 
truly made a difference in the lives of their family, friends, and 
community, and they will be greatly missed.

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